[[James T. Kirk]] is overseeing the launching of the new [[Excelsior-class]] [[starship]] [[Enterprise-B]]. Shortly after launch, the ship is called upon to answer a distress call. The Enterprise rescues several passengers from a ship caught in the [[technobabble]] anomaly-of-the-week "ribbon", among whom are [[Guinan]] and Dr. Tolian Soran. During the rescue, the Enterprise-B is caught in the anomaly. It turns out, the ship is still lacking several systems (all of which are scheduled to be installed on Tuesday) and so Kirk tries to jurry rig a solution. The plan works but a hole is blasted in the hull of the ship and Kirk is missing, presumed sucked out into space and dead.

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[[James T. Kirk]] is overseeing the launching of the new [[Excelsior-class]] [[starship]] [[Enterprise-B]]. Shortly after launch, the ship is called upon to answer a distress call. The Enterprise rescues several passengers from a ship caught in the [[technobabble]] anomaly-of-the-week "ribbon", among whom are [[Guinan]] and Dr. [[Tolian Soran]]. During the rescue, the Enterprise-B is caught in the anomaly. It turns out, the ship is still lacking several systems (all of which are scheduled to be installed on Tuesday) and so Kirk tries to jurry rig a solution. The plan works but a hole is blasted in the hull of the ship and Kirk is missing, presumed sucked out into space and dead.

The ribbon, it turns out, is some kind of gateway to "the Nexus" which is a paradise universe. In the Nexus, time has no meaning and everything is perfect. Soran and Guinan were once in this existence and Soran is obsessed with returning. However, no starship can get close enough for him to return and it doesn't pass close enough to any planets. He plans to destroy star systems to alter the trajectory of the ribbon close enough to the surface where he waits (why he doesn't just grab a shuttle, escape pod or even a space suit and launch himself straight towards the thing is a mystery, since it didn't seem to harm him.)

The ribbon, it turns out, is some kind of gateway to "the Nexus" which is a paradise universe. In the Nexus, time has no meaning and everything is perfect. Soran and Guinan were once in this existence and Soran is obsessed with returning. However, no starship can get close enough for him to return and it doesn't pass close enough to any planets. He plans to destroy star systems to alter the trajectory of the ribbon close enough to the surface where he waits (why he doesn't just grab a shuttle, escape pod or even a space suit and launch himself straight towards the thing is a mystery, since it didn't seem to harm him.)